Army Men Homepage

Fighting Plastic

by Corey Butler

This is a game for plastic toy soldiers. The original website is gone, but
the author gave blanket permission to use it wit ha few restrictions. It
is simple, easy to learn and easy to play. The author was obviously
inspired by 3DO's Army Men PC games. It is our good pleasure
to bring you these rules.

Here are the basic rules for the game as authored by
Corey Butler:

Introduction

FP is a miniatures war game for two or more players
using plastic army men and vehicles as units. Because it was designed
for maximum fun and playability, the game can be played with as much
lightheartedness as the players desire (e.g. nerf cannons, ping pong bombs,
glue weapons, etc.). It can be played on a large table, in a living
room, at the beach, or anywhere else you happen to be. The only materials
needed are these rules, a supply of different colored army men, some six-sided
dice, and a couple of yardsticks or tape measures.

Before beginning the game, players should discuss and
agree upon the playing area, victory conditions, selection of forces, and
starting positions. Setup is conducted jointly by all players before
army assignment is determined. Players are assigned armies by drawing
colors ( as in chess ). Each player then rolls a die and the highest
roller moves first, followed by the second highest, and so on.

An army typically consists of 30-40 men plus a few
fortifications or vehicles. As a general rule, attackers should be
given more troops ( perhaps even double ) than army men who are defending
a fortified position.

Example scenarios ( and victory conditions ) may include
such themes as: destroy all enemies, capture the flag, escape
to a safe area, escort vehicles and cargo, rescue prisoners, capture the
enemy leader, destroy a secret weapon, etc. Variants can include space
troops, toy dinosaurs, trains, boats, or any other items on hand.

Additional Game Components

Pencils = anti-tank obstacles

Big paper clips = barbed wire

Jar lids = fox holes

Houseplants = forests

Bottles, cans, etc, = miscellaneous obstacles and
cover

Coins = minefields

Rulers = bridges

Boxes of matches = fires and/or smoke

Blankets = low hills or bodies of water

Piles of books = steep hills and cliffs

Dixie cups = small pillboxes ( cut out gunports)

Game Turns

Each Turn represents an abstracted amount of time in
which a soldier can move and attack. Turns are divided into 4 phases
which porceed in the following order:

1. Movement ( sequential )

2. Automatic weapons ( simultaneous )

3. Other small arms ( simultaneous )

4l Heavy weapons ( simultaneous )

Heavy weapons inlcude tanks, artillery, bazookas,
flame-throwers, mortars, and anything else that is not a machine gun, rifle,
or pistol. If exotic, high-tech weapons like missiles and lasers are
involved, they should be fired in the automatic weapon phase.

Since combat is simultaneous, units destroyed in a
phase may still return fire during that phase. Keep track of destroyed
units by flipping them on their sides. At the end of the phase, casualties
are removed or replaced by wounded figures and/or dropped weapon accessories
up to a limit agreed upon before the game started. Destroyed vehicles
remain flipped over, serving as cover and obstacles for the remainder of
the game.

Movement

The standard movement allowance is one foot per turn
for infantry, and two feet per turn for vehicles. The allowance is
halved when going up hills, and is it also halved for vehicles crossing rough
ground. Jeeps and trucks ( as well as trains ) can move up to three
feet per turn on a road.

Tanks lose half their movement allowance when they
change directions by turning. There is no movement penalty to turn
the turret, which is positioned during the movement phase. Tanks can
eliminate enemy infantry by running them over.

Soldiers climbing cliffs must roll one die: 1 fall
to death, 2-4 no progress, 5-6 climb three inches. Climbing infantry
may not attack during the turn they are attempting to climb. Swimming
infantry move at a rate of 6" per turn. They have a 1 in 6 chance of
drowning every turn they are in the water. Paratroopers must roll a
die when they attempt to land: 1-2 on target, 3 north of target, 4
east of target, 5 south of target, 6 west of target. If off target,
roll another die to determine how many feet they are off ( max 3' ).
Paratroopers may take no further action on the turn they are dropped.

Opportunity Fire

Army men using direct fire ( i.e. not mortars, etc.
) have the option of attacking any units that moved through their line of
sight ( LoS ) during the movement phase, even if they are not in LoS at the
end of movement. This rule eliminates the possibility of units simply
running by enemy machine gun placements. Units attacked by opportunity
fir may return fire.

Combat

Combat occurs simultaneously, but in different phases
for different weapons types. Any weapon depicted on a given army man
may be used, but each figure may never attack more than once per turn.
Check the range ( in feet ) and the attack rating for the appropriate weapon
on the table below. The attack value or less must be rolled on two
dice to be successful. Infantry units are automatically eliminated
if hit. Armored vehicles and other hard targets may be destroyed by
heavy weapons depending on a second die roll ( see Hard Targets ).

Rate of fire ( RoF ) indicates how many attacks ( on
separate targets ) an automatic weapon can make in a turn. These attacks
must be clustered within a 60 degree arc. RoF is abstracted and does
not necessarily correspond to a specific number of bullets fired.

Weapon

Range

Attack

RoF

Notes

Knife

0

6

1

silent, no adjacent
bonus

Pistol

1

6

1

Rifle

2

7

1

Sniper
rilfe

3

9

1

stationary

Submachine
gun

1

8

3

Assault
rifle

2

8

5

LMG ( bipod
)

2

8

7

stationary, 1/2
move

HMG ( tripod
)

3

8

10

as above, crew of
2

Grenade

1

6

1

6" diameter
blast

Light
Mortar

2-4

6

1

6" blast, stationary,
1/2 move

Heavy
Mortar

2-5

6

1

as above,
9" blast, crew of 2

Flame
Thrower

1

9

1

6" wide
cone, 1/2 move

Bazooka

2

6

1

6"
blast, 1/2 move, crew of 2

Tank
gun

4

7

1

6" blast,
crew of 3 ( inside )

Light
cannon

3

7

1

6" blast,
stationary, crew of 3

Howitzer

6

7

1

9" blast,
stationary, crew of 3

Missile

9

8

1

12"
blast

Laser

any
LoS

8

1

automatic
elimination

Glue
Cannon

3

7

1

immobilizes
9" area

Special Units

Leader

+1 attack for troops
in 12" area

Binoculars

+1 to attack with
range >3

Radio

allows indirect fire
without Los, can transfer leader bonus

Engineer

can destroy obstacles,
stationary

Medic

Convert wounded to
healthy soldiers on a roll of 7 on two dice

Mine
detector

locate mines, deactivate
a 3" path per turn

Minefields

one attack of 7 on
all men vehicles during the movement

Barbed
wire

blocks infantry,
can be destroyed by engineers, tanks, guns

Tank
obstacles

blocks vehicles,
can be destroyed by engineers

Miscellaneous Notes

A natural
2 always eliminates its target and a natural 12 always
misses.

Automatic
weapons jam on a roll of 12. Can be fixed by rolling a 7 or less next
turn.

All tanks,
heavy guns, and flame-throwers are out of ammo on a roll of
12.

Stationary
weapons cannot attack on the same turn in which they
move.

At least
50% of a target must be within a blast area to be
hit.

Attacks
on AFVs use armor-piercing rounds and do not make a
blast.

Most
tanks and planes may fire LMGs in addition to their other
armaments.

There
is a 50% chance that a flame-thrower will explode ( 3" blast ) if
hit.

Attack Modifiers

Behind
cover

-3

flame-throwers and
grenades are -0

Flying

-4

planes can only be
attacked by MGs and lasers

Inside
pillbox

-5

flame throwers are
-0

Range
>3

-1

NA for high-tech
weapons such as lasers

From lower
elevation

-1

Adjacent

+2

From
behind

+2

Guns
using indirect fire ( and/or range >3 ) are -1 on their first attack on
a fixed location.

Infantry
with shovels can entrench ( -3 cover ) after two turns of
digging.

Hard Targets

Unlike most units, hard targets such as armored fighting
vehicles ( AFVs ) and pillboxes are not automatically eliminated when hit.
Furthermore, they are immune to most weapons. Bazookas, tank guns,
cannons, and flame throwers that land a successful hit have a chance to eliminate
them according to the following rule:

Cannons
are automatically eliminated when hit by tanks and other big
guns.

Trucks
and jeeps can be eliminated by tanks, cannons, mortars, and sustained HMG
fire.

Infantry
units can eliminate adjacent AFVs with a natural attack roll of
2

Army men in pillboxes cannot fire at targets that are
behind the fortification or directly below and in front of the gun ports
( Exception: grenades can be tossed onto units in front of pillboxes
). Enemy units in these safe zones can destroy the occupants of the
pillboxes on any roll other than a 12 if they are armed with either
flame-throwers or grenades.

Small arms can be used to attack soldiers in pillboxes
and half-tracks. If they score a successful nit after the appropriate
penalty ( half-tracks act as -3 cover ), they eliminate enemy units but do
not affect the hard target itself.

Heroes

One or more army men form each side can be designated
as heroes. These men may or may not be leaders. Heroes must be
"eliminated" three times before they are actually removed from the game.
They have +1 on all of their attack values and may have additional abilities
that should be agreed upon beforehand. Figures representing heroes
must be unique or easily identifiable. They should be given names like
Tex, Radar, Sarge, or Bill.

Designers Notes: This game is copyright
2000 by Corey Butler. It may be freely distributed in its original
form, with this notice, but not sold. Modifications and house rules
are encouraged and should be labeled as such.